arXiv subjects

J. E. Fast

Publications and source records attributed to J. E. Fast.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR experiment's construction, commissioning, and performance

Background: The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR , a modular array of isotopically enriched high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, was constructed to demonstrate backgrounds low enough to justify building a tonne-scale experiment to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay ($\beta\beta(0\nu)$) of $^{76}\mathrm{Ge}$. Purpose: This paper presents a description of the instrument, its commissioning, and operations. It covers the electroforming, underground infrastructure, enrichment, detector fabrication, low-background and construction techniques, electronics, data acquisition, databases, and data processing of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR. Method: The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR operated inside an ultra-low radioactivity passive shield at the 4850-foot~level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) from 2015-2021. Results and Conclusions: The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR achieved the best energy resolution and second-best background level of any $\beta\beta(0\nu)$ search. This enabled it to achieve an ultimate half-life limit on $\beta\beta(0\nu)$ in $^{76}\mathrm{Ge}$ of $8.3\times 10^{25}$~yr (90\% C.L.) and perform a rich set of searches for other physics beyond the Standard Model.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Measurement of ${\mathcal B}$($B_s \rightarrow D_s X$) with $B_s$ Semileptonic Tagging

We report the first direct measurement of the inclusive branching fraction ${\mathcal B}(B_s \rightarrow D_s X)$ via $B_s$ tagging in $e^+e^-\toΥ$(5S) events. Tagging is accomplished through a partial reconstruction of semileptonic decays $B_s \rightarrow D_s X \ell ν$, where $X$ denotes unreconstructed additional hadrons or photons and $\ell$ is an electron or muon. With 121.4 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the $Υ$(5S) resonance by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider, we obtain ${\mathcal B}(B_s \rightarrow D_s X)$ = $(60.2 \pm 5.8 \pm 2.3)$\%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

Search for the decay $B_s^0\rightarrowηη$

We report results from a search for the decay $B_s^0\rightarrowηη$ using 121.4 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the $Υ(5S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. We do not observe any signal and set an upper limit on the branching fraction of $14.3\times 10^{-5}$ at $90\%$ confidence level. This result represents a significant improvement over the previous most stringent limit.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

Measurement of the Branching Fraction of the Decay $\boldsymbol{B^{+}\toπ^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_\ell}$ in Fully Reconstructed Events at Belle

We present an analysis of the exclusive $B^{+}\toπ^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_{\ell}$ decay, where $\ell$ represents an electron or a muon, with the assumption of charge-conjugation symmetry and lepton universality. The analysis uses the full $Υ(4S)$ data sample collected by the Belle detector, corresponding to 711 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. We select the events by fully reconstructing one $B$ meson in hadronic decay modes, subsequently determining the properties of the other $B$ meson. We extract the signal yields using a binned maximum-likelihood fit to the missing-mass squared distribution in bins of the invariant mass of the two pions or the momentum transfer squared. We measure a total branching fraction of ${{\cal B}(B^{+}\to π^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_{\ell})= [22.7 ^{+1.9}_{-1.6} (\mathrm{stat}) \pm 3.5(\mathrm{syst}) ]\times 10^{-5}}$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. This result is the first reported measurement of this decay.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Measurement of time-dependent CP violation parameters in $B^0 \to K_0^SK_0^SK_0^S$ decays at Belle

We measure the time-dependent $C\!P$ violation parameters in $B^{0} \to K^{0}_{S}K^{0}_{S}K^{0}_{S}$ decays using $772 \times 10^6$ $B {\mkern 1.5mu\overline{\mkern-1.5mu B \mkern-0.1mu}\mkern 0.1mu}$ pairs collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The obtained mixing-induced and direct $C\!P$ asymmetries are $-0.71 \pm 0.23~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.05~{\rm(syst)}$ and $0.12 \pm 0.16~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.05~{\rm(syst)}$, respectively. These values are consistent with the Standard Model predictions. The significance of $C\!P$ violation differs from zero by 2.5 standard deviations.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Measurement of the charm-mixing parameter $y_{CP}$ in $D^{0}\to K^{0}_{S}ω$ decays at Belle

We report the first measurement of the charm-mixing parameter $y_{CP}$ in $D^{0}$ decays to the $CP$-odd final state $K^{0}_{S}ω$. The study uses the full Belle $e^{+}e^-$ annihilation data sample of $976\rm~ fb^{-1}$ taken at or near the $Υ(4S)$ centre-of-mass energy. We find $y_{CP} = (0.96 \pm 0.91 \pm 0.61 {}^{+0.17}_{-0.00})\%$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic due to event selection and background, and the last is due to possible presence of $CP$-even decays in the data sample.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Dalitz analysis of $D^{0}\to K^{-}π^{+}η$ decays at Belle

We present the results of the first Dalitz plot analysis of the decay $D^{0}\to K^{-}π^{+}η$. The analysis is performed on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 953 $\rm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the Belle detector at the asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ KEKB collider. The Dalitz plot is well described by a combination of the six resonant decay channels $\bar{K}^{*}(892)^0η$, $K^{-}a_0(980)^+$, $K^{-}a_2(1320)^+$, $\bar{K}^{*}(1410)^0η$, $K^{*}(1680)^-π^{+}$ and $K_2^{*}(1980)^-π^{+}$, together with $Kπ$ and $Kη$ S-wave components. The decays $K^{*}(1680)^{-}\to K^{-}η$ and $K_{2}^{*}(1980)^{-}\to K^{-}η$ are observed for the first time. We measure ratio of the branching fractions, $\frac{\mathcal{B}(D^{0}\to K^{-}π^{+}η)}{\mathcal{B}(D^{0}\to K^{-}π^{+})}=0.500\pm0.002{\rm(stat)}\pm0.020{\rm(syst)}\pm0.003{\rm (\mathcal{B}_{PDG})}$. Using the Dalitz fit result, the ratio $\frac{\mathcal{B}(K^{*}(1680)\to Kη)}{\mathcal{B}(K^{*}(1680)\to Kπ)}$ is measured to be $0.11\pm0.02{\rm(stat)}^{+0.06}_{-0.04}{\rm(syst)}\pm0.04{\rm(\mathcal{B}_{\text{PDG}})}$; this is much lower than the theoretical expectations ($\approx1$) made under the assumption that $K^{*}(1680)$ is a pure $1^{3}D_1$ state. The product branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(D^0\to [K_2^{*}(1980)^-\to K^{-}η]π^{+})=(2.2^{+1.7}_{-1.9})\times10^{-4}$ is determined. In addition, the $πη^{\prime}$ contribution to the $a_0(980)^{\pm}$ resonance shape is confirmed with 10.1$σ$ statistical significance using the three-channel Flatté model. We also measure $\mathcal{B}(D^0\to\bar{K}^{*}(892)^0η)=(1.41^{+0.13}_{-0.12})\%$. This is consistent with, and more precise than, the current world average $(1.02\pm0.30)\%$, deviates with a significance of more than $3σ$ from the theoretical predictions of (0.51-0.92)%.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Search for $B^0$ Decays to Invisible Final States ($+γ$) at Belle

We report searches for $B^0\to\rm{invisible}$ and $B^0\to\rm{invisible}+γ$ decays, where the energy of the photon is required to be larger than 0.5 GeV. These results are obtained from a $711\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ data sample that contains $772 \times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs and was collected near the $Υ\,(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+ e^-$ collider. We observe no significant signal for either decay and set upper limits on their branching fractions at $90\%$ confidence level of $\mathcal{B}\,(B^0\to\rm{invisible}) < 7.8\times10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}\,(B^0\to\rm{invisible}+γ) < 1.6\times10^{-5}$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

First search for the $η_{c2}(1D)$ in $B$ decays at Belle

The first dedicated search for the $η_{c2}(1D)$ is carried out using the decays $B^+ \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) K^+$, $B^0 \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) K^0_S$, $B^0 \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) π^- K^+$, and $B^+ \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) π^+ K^0_S$ with $η_{c2}(1D) \to h_c γ$. No significant signal is found. For the $η_{c2}(1D)$ mass range between $3795$ and $3845\ \mathrm{MeV}/c^2$, the branching-fraction upper limits are determined to be $\mathcal{B}(B^+ \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) K^+) \times \mathcal{B}(η_{c2}(1D) \to h_c γ) < 3.7 \times 10^{-5}$, $\mathcal{B}(B^0 \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) K^0_S) \times \mathcal{B}(η_{c2}(1D) \to h_c γ) < 3.5 \times 10^{-5}$, $\mathcal{B}(B^0 \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) π^- K^+) \times \mathcal{B}(η_{c2}(1D) \to h_c γ) < 1.0 \times 10^{-4}$, and $\mathcal{B}(B^+ \rightarrow η_{c2}(1D) π^+ K^0_S) \times \mathcal{B}(η_{c2}(1D) \to h_c γ) < 1.1 \times 10^{-4}$ at 90% C. L. The analysis is based on the 711 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ data sample collected on the $Υ(4S)$ resonance by the Belle detector, which operated at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Evidence for a vector charmonium-like state in $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$

We report the measurement of $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$ via initial-state radiation using a data sample of an integrated luminosity of 921.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector at the $Υ(4S)$ and nearby. We find evidence for an enhancement with a 3.4$σ$ significance in the invariant mass of $D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^- +c.c.$ The measured mass and width are $(4619.8^{+8.9}_{-8.0}({\rm stat.})\pm2.3({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}/c^{2}$ and $(47.0^{+31.3}_{-14.8}({\rm stat.})\pm4.6({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}$, respectively. The mass, width, and quantum numbers of this enhancement are consistent with the charmonium-like state at 4626 MeV/$c^2$ recently reported by Belle in $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ The product of the $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$ cross section and the branching fraction of $D^*_{s2}(2573)^-\to{\bar D}^0K^-$ is measured from $D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-$ threshold to 5.6 GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Search for an invisibly decaying $Z^{\prime}$ boson at Belle II in $e^+ e^- \to μ^+ μ^- (e^{\pm} μ^{\mp})$ plus missing energy final states

Theories beyond the standard model often predict the existence of an additional neutral boson, the $Z^{\prime}$. Using data collected by the Belle II experiment during 2018 at the SuperKEKB collider, we perform the first searches for the invisible decay of a $Z^{\prime}$ in the process $e^+ e^- \to μ^+ μ^- Z^{\prime}$ and of a lepton-flavor-violating $Z^{\prime}$ in $e^+ e^- \to e^{\pm} μ^{\mp} Z^{\prime}$. We do not find any excess of events and set 90\% credibility level upper limits on the cross sections of these processes. We translate the former, in the framework of an $L_μ-L_τ$ theory, into upper limits on the $Z^{\prime}$ coupling constant at the level of $5 \times 10^{-2}$ -- $1$ $M_{Z^\prime}\leq 6$ GeV/$c^2$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Update of inclusive cross sections of single and pairs of identified light charged hadrons

We report new measurements of the production cross sections of pairs of charged pions and kaons as a function of their fractional energies using various fractional-energy definitions. Two different fractional-energy definitions were used and compared to the conventional fractional-energy definition reported previously. The new variables aim at either identifying dihadron cross sections in terms of single-hadron fragmentation functions, or to provide a means of characterizing the transverse momentum created in the fragmentation process. The results were obtained applying the updated initial-state radiation correction used in other recent Belle publications on light-hadron production cross sections. In addition, production cross sections of single charged pions, kaons, and protons were also updated using this initial-state radiation correction. The cross sections are obtained from a $558\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ data sample collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Measurements of the Branching Fractions ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0})$, ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0})$ and ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0}) $

Using the data sample of 711 fb$^{-1}$ of $Υ(4S)$ on-resonance data taken by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider, we present the first measurements of branching fractions of the decays $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0}$, $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0}$, and $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0} $. The signal yields for these decays are extracted from the recoil mass spectrum of the system recoiling against $\barΛ_{c}^{-}$ baryons in selected $B^-$ candidates. The branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0}$ is measured to be $ (1.1 \pm 0.4 \pm 0.2)\times 10^{-3}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The 90\% credibility level upper limits on ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0})$ and ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0})$ are determined to be $6.5\times 10^{-4}$ and $7.9\times 10^{-4}$, respectively.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Study of $B \to p {\bar p} ππ$

Using a data sample of $772 \times 10^6$ BB pairs collected on the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider, we report the observations of $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ and $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$. We measure a decay branching fraction of $(0.83 \pm 0.17 \pm 0.17) \times 10^-6$ in $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ for $M_{π^+π^-} < 1.22 GeV/c^2$ with a significance of 5.5 standard deviations. The contribution from $B0 \to p{\bar p}K^0$ is excluded. We measure a decay branching fraction of $(4.58 \pm 1.17 \pm 0.67) \times 10^-6$ for $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$ with $M_{π^+π^0} < 1.3 GeV/c^2$ with a significance of 5.4 standard deviations. We study the difference of the $M_{p{\bar p}}$ distributions in $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ and $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Search for $B^+ \to μ^+\, ν_μ$ and $B^+ \to μ^+\, N$ with inclusive tagging

We report the result for a search for the leptonic decay of $B^+ \to μ^+ \, ν_μ$ using the full Belle data set of 711 fb${}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. In the Standard Model leptonic $B$-meson decays are helicity and CKM suppressed. To maximize sensitivity an inclusive tagging approach is used to reconstruct the second $B$ meson produced in the collision. The directional information from this second $B$ meson is used to boost the observed $μ$ into the signal $B$ meson rest-frame, in which the $μ$ has a monochromatic momentum spectrum. Though its momentum is smeared by the experimental resolution, this technique improves the analysis sensitivity considerably. Analyzing the $μ$ momentum spectrum in this frame we find $\mathcal{B}(B^+ \to μ^+ \, ν_μ) = \left( 5.3 \pm 2.0 \pm 0.9 \right) \times 10^{-7}$ with a one-sided significance of 2.8 standard deviations over the background-only hypothesis. This translates to a frequentist upper limit of $\mathcal{B}(B^+ \to μ^+ \, ν_μ) < 8.6 \times 10^{-7}$ at 90% CL. The experimental spectrum is then used to search for a massive sterile neutrino, $B^+ \to μ^+ \, N$, but no evidence is observed for a sterile neutrino with a mass in a range of 0 - 1.5 GeV. The determined $B^+ \to μ^+ \, ν_μ$ branching fraction limit is further used to constrain the mass and coupling space of the type II and type III two-Higgs-doublet models.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Observation of a vector charmoniumlike state in $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$

Using a data sample of 921.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector, we study the process of $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ via initial-state radiation. We report the first observation of a vector charmoniumlike state decaying to $D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ with a significance of 5.9$σ$, including the systematic uncertainties. The measured mass and width are $(4625.9^{+6.2}_{-6.0}({\rm stat.})\pm0.4({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}/c^{2}$ and $(49.8^{+13.9}_{-11.5}({\rm stat.})\pm4.0({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}$, respectively. The product of the $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ cross section and the branching fraction of $D_{s1}(2536)^-\to{\bar D}^{*0}K^-$ is measured from the $D_s \bar{D}_{s1}(2536)$ threshold to 5.59~GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Observation of the radiative decays of $Υ(1S)$ to $χ_{c1}$

We report the first observation of the radiative decay of the $Υ(1S)$ into a charmonium state. The statistical significance of the observed signal of $Υ(1S) \to γχ_{c1}$ is 6.3 standard deviations including systematics. The branching fraction is calculated to be Br($Υ(1S) \to γχ_{c1}$) = (4.7^{+2.4}_{-1.8} (stat) ^{+0.4}_{-0.5} (sys)) * 10^{-5}. We also searched for $Υ(1S)$ radiative decays into $χ_{c0,2}$ and $η_c(1S,2S)$ and set upper limits on their branching fractions. These results are obtained from a 24.9 fb^{-1} data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider at a center-of-mass energy equal to the $Υ(2S)$ mass using $Υ(1S)$ tagging by the $Υ(2S) \to Υ(1S) π^+π^-$ transitions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2019

Measurement of $\mathcal{R}(D)$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^*)$ with a semileptonic tagging method

The experimental results on the ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D) = {\cal B}(\bar{B} \to D τ^- \barν_τ)/{\cal B}(\bar{B} \to D \ell^- \barν_{\ell})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^*) = {\cal B}(\bar{B} \to D^* τ^- \barν_τ)/{\cal B}(\bar{B} \to D^* \ell^- \barν_{\ell})$, where $\ell$ denotes an electron or a muon, show a long-standing discrepancy with the Standard Model predictions, and might hint to a violation of lepton flavor universality. We report a new simultaneous measurement of $\mathcal{R}(D)$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^*)$, based on a data sample containing $772 \times 10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ events recorded at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+ e^-$ collider. In this analysis the tag-side $B$ meson is reconstructed in a semileptonic decay mode and the signal-side $τ$ is reconstructed in a purely leptonic decay. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D)= 0.307 \pm 0.037 \pm 0.016$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^*) = 0.283 \pm 0.018 \pm 0.014$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. These results are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions within $0.2$, $1.1$ and $0.8$ standard deviations for $\mathcal{R}(D)$, $\mathcal{R}(D^*)$ and their combination, respectively. This work constitutes the most precise measurements of $\mathcal{R}(D)$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^*)$ performed to date as well as the first result for $\mathcal{R}(D)$ based on a semileptonic tagging method.

hep-ex↗